Surgical pad



April 17, 1962 c. A. HANINGTON 3,029,813

' SURGICAL PAD Filed May 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 c/mr/cs/i Ha Iii/ 072is M27575.

April 17, 1962 c. A. HANINGTON 3,029,313

SURGICAL PAD Filed May 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fnZ EnZ QP v I C/mr/csA. Hanin Ton United States This invention relates to improvements in asurgical pad, and more particularly to a surgical pad carrying anadhesive surface by means of which it is attached to the body of a useradjacent a wound or an affliction, the invention being highly desirablefor use in treating and alleviating corns, calluses, and the likeincluding hammer toe corns, although the invention will have other usesand purposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the past, many and various types of surgical pads have beendeveloped, and in some instances designed for special purposes, butthese formerly known pads were made up in finished form, of varioussizes, but if one size did not fit, another pad would have to beacquired, and possibly still others in order to acquire the desiredbeneficial results for a particular afiliction. Frequently such padswere. either too thick or too thin to provide the desired amount ofrelief from pressure from wearing apparel, such as shoes and the like.It was dill-lcult to find a 'pad capable of giving the desired reliefand in the desired location with many types of afilictions because ofthe size and thickness of the pads.

With that in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention toprovide a surgical pad or bandage that may be adjusted by the user toprovide the desired thickness in the desired location for a particularaffliction.

Another object of the instant invention is the provision of a surgicalpad, bandage, or the like having an extended portion which may be foldedor rolled under to a desired extent to provide a pressure relieving padportion of the required thickness for a particular use.

Also a feature of this invention is the provision of a surgical pad orthe like which may be provided in a fiat form for adjustment by theconsumer, or provided with a portion of the pad rolled or folded underto increase the thickness of that portion and without necessitatingultimate adjustment by the consumer.

A further object of the instant invention resides in the provision of asurgical pad or the likehaving a portion for disposition immediatelyadjacent an afiliction, and another portion extending therefrom, thesecond extended portion being foldable underneath to provide a desirablenumber of thicknesses of the material in order to establish a pressurerelieving bulge of desired thickness and location.

Also a feature of the invention is the provision of a surgical pad orbandage, a portion of which may be folded or rolled under to a desiredextent to obtain the necessary pressure relieving thickness ofstructure, and which portion is marked in a suitable manner to defineincrements or segments to be successively folded under.

It is still a further feature of this invention to provide a surgicalpad highly desirable for treatment and alleviation of hammer toes andhammer toe corns, although the device is quite efficacious in connectionwith corns and calluses in other locations on the foot.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying. drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the aren't 3,029,813Patented Apr. 17, 1962 human foot, showing the same provided with asurgical pad embodying principles of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a pair of surgical pads or bandages embodyingprinciples of the instant invention, showing the same mounted upon atemporary pro tective cover, in the manner they would be packaged forsale;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through one of the pads ofFIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of one of the pads of FIG. 2 with the terminalsection thereof turned under;

FIGURE 5 is a central vertical sectional view through the structure ofFIG. 4;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the same pad but with another terminalsection turned under;

FIGURE 7 is a central vertical sectional view through the structure ofFIG. 6;

IGURE 8 is a bottom plan view of the pad with still another, section orincrement turned under;

FIGURE 9 is a central vertical sectional view through the structure ofFIG. 8;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar in character to FIG. 2, but illustratingsurgical pads embodying principles of the instant invention disposed ona temporary protective backing in somewhat different form than in FIG;2;

FIGURE 11 is a bottom perspective view of one of i the pads of FIG. 10;and

FIGURE 12 is aview illustrating superposed usage of two of the pads.

As shown on the drawings:

As an illustration of one desirable use for the instant invention, inFIG. 1 of the drawings I have diagrammatically indicated a human foot 1afilicted with a hammer toe corn 2 on the second toe thereof. A padembodying principles of the instant invention is shown disposed inoperative position on the toe to alleviate the corn 2. The pad ingeneral includes a head portion 3 adhesively secured to the toe aroundthe corn, and a shank portion 4 rolled under to provide a portion ofsuitable thickness to eifectively relieve pressure from the corn. Thethicker portion 4 of the pad is disposed to the rear, and the vamp of ashoe, indicated by the dotted line 5, will press against the rolled orunderturned shank portion 4 of the pad just in back of the middle jointof the toe, thereby tending to partially straighten the hammer toe, andbring the corn below the inside surface of the shoe vamp to a positionwhere there is no pressure upon it.

The surgical pad or bandage itself preferably comprises a flat strip orsheet of any suitable cushioning material such as relatively thickmoleskin, felt, pile fabric, a natural or chemical foam material, or anyother suitable cushioning substance. The material may be of any desiredthickness, and usually a thickness of to 6" will be satisfactory. Thesheet may be die cut or stamped from a stock sheet, and is preferablyshaped to define the aforesaid head portion 3 and the elongated shankportion or" lesser width extending therefrom, generally designated bynumeral 4. In the illustrated instance the head portion is shown ingenerally circular shape, a convenient shape in most cases. The headportion is also preferably provided with an affliction receiving openingor aperture 6. The entire strip carries on its underface a pressuresensitive adhesive spread 7 by means of which the pad is attached to thebody of a user. i

In the first embodiment of the instant invention, the shank 4 of thestrip is preferably provided with suitable indicia to define successivesegments or increments of the strip. In the illustrated instance theindicia are in the form of spaced notches 8 which may be provided in oneor both side edges of the shank. Any desired number of increments orsegments of the shank may be thus defined or indicated, and in theshowing by way of example there are three such segments 9, 1t) and 11.It will be noted that these segments 9, 1t) and 11 progressivelyincrease in length inwardly from the free end of the shank. Asatisfactory increment of increase, which is given by way of exampleonly and not by way of limitation, is substantially the thickness of thepad in its fiat form. That is, the section may be longer than thesection 11 by an amount equivalent to the thickness of the pad. Suchvariation is of course not essential, but the change in length of thesections 9, 1t) and 11 may be whatever is desired.

From the above description, it will be noted that the pad is providedwith a medium of adjustment to acquire a thicker portion of desired sizefor any particular aillicticn. For example, a pad having a doublethickness in one portion may be provided by turning under the definedsection 11 as seen in FIGURES 4 and 5. If a thicker portion of the padis desired, the section 10 might also be turned under as seen in FIGURES6 and 7. In order to acquire a pad of the character illustrated inFIGURE 1 of the drawings, all three sections are folded under whereby aquadruple thickness portion is obtained, as seen clearly in FIGURES 8and 9.

In the manner just described, the pad may be adjusted by the user toacquire a thicker portion of any suitable size and in a desiredlocation. If it is desired to have only a double thickness portionimmediately adjacent the head 3 of the pad or bandage, the sections 10and 11 may be severed from the shank, and only the section 9 foldedunder. In similar manner, substantially any character of adjustmentmight be made.

It should also be especially noted that the surgical pad or bandageabove described may be packaged for distribution to the ultimateconsumer in the flat condition seen in FIG. 2, or in any of thepartially or completely folded conditions seen in FIGURES 5, 7 and 9.

It is not necessary that the pad or bandage be provided with the indiciaindicating sections or increments thereof to be folded under, but on theother hand the shank of the pad may be rolled under as seen in FIGURES10 and 11. As noted in FIG. 10, this form of pad comprises the same typeof strip as that previously described, carrying the adhesive spread '7on its underface, and shaped to define a head 3a, having an afilictionreceiving opening 6a therein. The shank 4a of the pad is shown in rolledcondition to its full extent. The pad may be provided in this manner forsale to the ultimate consumer or, as stated above, it may be sold in theflat to be rolled by the consumer. The form of packing may be seen inFIG. 10, wherein two or more of the pads may be placed upon a suitabletemporary backing sheet indicated at 12, and which may be of anydesirable or suitable material capable of protecting the adhesivesurface on the pad until time for use. If the pad or bandage is made ofmaterial non-injurious to the adhesive surface, the rolled or foldedpads may be unrolled or unfolded to a desired extent by the user. Tothat end, the cushioning material of the pad might be covered with acoating of a suitable plastic to which the adhesive would onlytemporarily adhere and which would not injure or detract from theadhesive characteristics or qualities of the particular spread uponremoval from the surface.

in FIG. 12 I have illustrated a still different form of using surgicalpads of the character herein set forth, whereby adequate thickness maybe acquired in an exact location. To this end, two or more of the padsmay be superposed one upon the other, the adhesive undersurface of theupper pad joining it to the lower. The shanks 4 may be rolled or foldedunder to a desired extent so as 4- to provide a required ultimatethickness. This arrangement is highly satisfactory where it is deemedadvisable to have a greater thickness of cushioning material in the flatportion of the pads, and a still greater thickness in the folded portionof the pads. An example of such use would be for the treatment ofbunions, or bunions accompanied by hallux valgus where a greaterthickness of the pressure relieving portion of the pad may be neededadjacent the afiiiction especially along the side of a shoe. The padsneed not be superposed uniformly, if treatment of the particularafiliction warrants otherwise.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have rovided a simpleform of pad or bandage which may readily be adjusted by the user inorder to acquire an adequate thickness of material in a particularlocation, consistent with proper treatment of a particular aflllction.Thus, the uniformity in size of pads heretofore utilized for similar aidto a patient is dispensed with, and each afiliction may be given theindividual treatment required, since in rare instances afilictions ofthe same general character would be of exact size. Furthermore, theinstant invention is simple in construction, durable, and extremelyeconomical to manufacture and use.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A surgical pad comprising a layer of material carrying an adhesivespread on its undersurface, said layer being shaped to define a headportion and a shank of lesser width extending from said head portion,and said shank having spaced pairs of aligned notches opening toopposite sides thereof, the spacing of said pairs of notchesprogressively decreasing in length toward the end of said shank byincrements slightly in excess of the thickness of said shank in its flatform, whereby a selected thickness of cushioning pad of greaterthickness than said head portion may be attained by folding back saidshank at said notches onto the adhesive surface thereof a selectednumber of times, the ends of which are defined by aligned notches of thelayers of said cushioning pad.

2. A surgical pad comprising a flat piece of cushioning materialcarrying an adhesive spread on its undersurface over the entire areathereof, said piece of cushioning material being shaped to define arelatively large head portion having an afiiiction receiving openingtherein and having a single narrower shank extending laterally from oneside of said head portion and bent back from the end of said shankimmediately upon itself toward said head portion, whereby theimmediately adjacent baclc wardly bent portions are held together by theadherence of the adhesive to the adhesive, thereby creating an endportion of greater thickness than said head portion, said end portionhaving non-adhesive top and bottom portions and said shank beingstructurally modified to provide weakened resistance to bending alongspaced transverse lines, th spacing between said lines progressivelydecreasing toward the end of said shank by increments slightly in excessof the thickness of said shank in its flat form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS730,035 Mahler June 2, 1903 895,145 Bauer Aug. 4, 1908 1,212,861 WetzelIan. 16, 1917 1,476,682 Beckman Dec. 11, 1923 1,736,515 Anderson Nov.19, 1929 2,068,703 Powdermaker Jan. 26, 1937 2,387,642 Calhoun Oct. 23,1945 2,448,366 Gledhill Aug. 31, 1948 2,508,855 Brown May 23, 1950

